Chapter 149
Elena’s POV:
A sharp, painful gasp escaped my lips as a cascade of ice–cold water splashed over my face, the sudden shock ripping me from the abyss of unconsciousness. My eyes blinked open, disoriented, struggling to focus through the lingering haze.
Panic flared instantly in my chest when I tried to push myself up and found I couldn’t pull my hands. They were bound, tightly secured behind my back, a rough rope chafing against my wrists.
A wave of nausea washed over me as I started coughing, my throat burning, my head pounding. I thrashed weakly, trying to push myself up with my legs, but it was impossible to gain leverage without the use of my hands.
The sensation of helplessness was terrifying. Even through the panic, I forced myself to take a shallow, ragged breath, struggling to regain some semblance of composure, to assess my surroundings.
I had a sickening feeling that I knew exactly what was going on, or at least, the grim reality that I had likely been kidnapped. But it was all pitch black around me; I was probably blindfolded, unable to see anything beyond the oppressive darkness.
Chills, cold and relentless, erupted on my arms. My teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. It was freezing. Whoever had done this had stripped off my jacket, leaving me exposed in my half–drenched navy dress.
That’s when my sense of smell finally registered. The sharp, briny scent of salt and…. The sea? I froze, inhaling deeply, confirming the unmistakable aroma of the ocean. I pricked my ears, straining to hear over the rapid thumping of my own heart, and realized I could distinctively hear the rhythmic thrum of a powerful motor, an engine churning somewhere close by.
Oh fuck. Oh no.
A small, sharp prick on the back of my neck, made me jolt violently backward, my hands and legs trembling uncontrollably.
“Who is it?! What the hell do you want?!” I gritted out, my voice raw and hoarse, my words barely intelligible through my chattering teeth. Damn it, I was freezing, shivering so violently I could barely control my own muscles. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. If there was one thing in this world I chose not to be good at… or even try to be good at… it was swimming.
I hated the water. A deep, irrational terror seized me at the thought of it, especially deep, dark waters where the bottom was invisible.
I didn’t know why this fear was so profound. The slight, persistent anxiety had been there since I could remember. But it had blossomed into
a full–blown phobia in recent years, a dread that made me avoid anything deeper than a bathtub.
And there were only a very few handful of people in my life who knew about this fear. Not even Nikolai was aware, or at least, I didn’t think he
was.
I heard a light, soft chuckle, and that one sound, so familiar yet so utterly out of place, made my blood run instantly cold. Because I had spent five years listening to that sound, that particular timbre of amusement and arrogance… how could I possibly forget it in just a few months?
“Dmitri?” I gasped in disbelief. My heart hammered against my ribs. I heard the unmistakable–sound of footsteps approaching and felt his presence drawing closer to me. My every instinct screamed at me to move back. But I couldn’t.
What if I moved back and I fell? Fell into what? I didn’t know where I was. Was it a flimsy boat? A yacht? The thrum of the motor and the salty air confirmed it was definitely somewhere in the middle of the ocean and that’s what made me even more terrified.
He bent. I felt his presence next to me, a wave of sickeningly sweet cologne assaulting my senses. Cold, light fingers, surprisingly gentle yet utterly invasive, traced the side of my face, from my temple down to my jawline.
A shiver of revulsion ran through me. He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear, and whispered, “So beautiful, Elena… even more so
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Chapter 149
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when you’re utterly at my mercy.”
I gritted out, my voice laced with a raw hatred that momentarily eclipsed my fear. “What the hell is this? What do you want?!”
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He scoffed and then, without warning, he pulled my hair up, his hand tangling brutally in the strands at the crown of my head, yanking my head back sharply. I gasped, a cry of pain escaping my lips. “Did you really think something as trivial as that could stop me, Elena?” He whispered, anger and mockery lacing his voice. “Me? Dmitri Vetrov? Did you really think twenty years in some pathetic prison could hold me?”
He laughed then, a high, deranged sound that sent shivers down my spine, tightening his grip on my hair. I hissed in pain, my scalp protesting. Then, with a sudden, sharp tug, the blindfold was yanked from my face.
The bright, blinding light of the overhead cabin lights, combined with the harsh light of the sunset, hit my eyes, making me flinch and squeeze them shut against the sudden assault. Spots danced in my vision, making me dizzy.
When my eyes finally adjusted, I forced them open, and the face reflected in my gaze wasn’t an expression I had ever seen on Dmitri’s face before. It was twisted, distorted, consumed by a chilling malevolence that transformed his once handsome features into something truly monstrous. He looked like a completely different person. Not the pleading, pathetic man I’d seen crawling on the floor, begging me to reconsider after he cheated on me. Not the arrogant, charming playboy. This was pure, unadulterated evil.
“You think way too highly of yourself, Elena,” he snarled, his eyes burning with a psychotic intensity. “I should have put you in your place long ago… but it seems I went too easy on you.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and clenched my fists, the binds on my wrists chafing. As much as I wanted
to talk down to him, to unleash the fury boiling inside me, I knew this wasn’t the time. In a situation where I was clearly at such a
monumental disadvantage, I couldn’t afford to aggravate him anymore. After all… it wasn’t just my own life that was on the line anymore.
I tried desperately to think, my mind buzzing with frantic, incoherent thoughts. How… how was I supposed to get out of this situation? How could I possibly protect the life within me?
“Why did you bring me here, Dmitri? Plan on killing me too? Like you did to Mielle?” I asked, my voice trembling but laced with an accusatory edge I couldn’t suppress. My stomach roiled, a mix of nausea and revulsion. He sneered, his lips curling back in a venomous smile.
“That was all your fault, Elena!” he hissed, his voice rising in volume. “If only I had listened to my father from the beginning. But no… I was also at fault for thinking with my fucking heart instead of my head, like some lovesick fool. I really did love you, Elena. More than I have ever loved anyone else, more than I thought possible. Even after the way you betrayed me by marrying Nikolai… even after my father insisted, after he practically threatened me to kill you… I couldn’t bring myself to harm you. My feelings… they were a weakness I couldn’t overcome.” His eyes were wide and bloodshot.
“Then… then why?” I gasped, my voice barely audible, as his hand in my hair tightened, pulling me closer, forcing my face mere inches from
his. We were practically just a few centimeters apart.
